


No Cake Big Enough

by electrictoes



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-16
Updated: 2009-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28987980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electrictoes/pseuds/electrictoes
Summary: The Doctor celebrates his first birthday in Pete's World.
Relationships: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	No Cake Big Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to livejournal

**Title:** No Cake Big Enough (1/1)  
**Characters/Pairings:** TenII, Rose, various Tylers. TenII/Rose.  
**Rating:** PG  
**Spoilers:** Post-JE. Potential spoilers for everything for before that.  
**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I don't own Doctor Who. Playing with the BBC's toys.  
**Summary:** _The Doctor celebrates his first birthday in Pete's World.  
_**Author's Note(s):** For [](https://rattus-aerius.livejournal.com/profile)[**rattus_aerius**](https://rattus-aerius.livejournal.com/) , happy birthday! Thanks to [](https://wishiknewwho.livejournal.com/profile)[**wishiknewwho**](https://wishiknewwho.livejournal.com/) for the beta.

It was the Doctor’s birthday. He couldn’t remember the last time he had celebrated a birthday, but today they were. His _first_ birthday, Rose said. Jackie had shaken her head at that, but Rose hadn’t cared.He had worried that today would come with painful memories, being left behind on that beach. He hadn’t wanted a day set aside to remember the other Doctor. Nor had Rose. She had told him, without him asking, that she wanted a day for him, for the Doctor that stayed.

They were having a party. He had never had a birthday party in his life. Their workmates had been puzzled as to why anyone would have a lavish party for their thirty-fourth birthday, but Rose had said it was important and the Doctor had been happy to go along with it.

Right now, though, he was still in bed. After being practically worshipped by the love of his life, he was spread across the sheets unwilling to move. He could hear Rose coming back up the stairs and he smiled as she entered the room, a cup of tea in her hand. She placed it on the bedside table next to him as he sat up and then slid onto the bed, curling into his arms and kissing his shoulder softly. “Happy Birthday.”

He grinned. “I could get used to this birthday thing.”

Smiling, Rose wound her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. He sipped his tea happily, enjoying the moment. He placed the mug back down and tilted his head, looking down at Rose. “What happens now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, on your birthday there were presents and there was cake. And on Tony’s birthday there was ice cream, too. What do we do now?”

Rose traced circles along his skin, her fingers dancing across his ribcage. “Are you fishing for presents?”

“Mostly cake, if I’m honest.”

Laughing, Rose moved to kiss his lips softly. “There’ll be cake at your party. Presents too.”

“That’s not for hours. What do we do until then?” He liked the idea of having more attention lavished upon him, but he didn’t like the idea of lying in bed all day. No matter how appealing his human body found sleep, it was something he begrudgingly accepted as a necessity and only occasionally enjoyed.

Rose untangled herself from him and sat upright. “Whatever you like, it’s your birthday.”

“Presents?” He looked at her hopefully.

“They’re at Mum’s.”

He groaned. It was ridiculously unfair that to get his birthday presents he would have to lay himself open as a target for Jackie Tyler. She would probably scowl and tell him he needed to eat more. Or she might lecture him about blowing up her kitchen appliances (again). Or worse still, she might try and kiss him. That was something that no amount of reassurances from Rose that he would survive would ever, ever make right. “Why are my birthday presents at your mothers?”

“For the same reason that Tony’s Christmas presents are kept here.” At his blank look, she continued.“I couldn’t trust you not to go snooping.”

The Doctor gave her a mock affronted look and slipped away from her, getting out of bed. “Shall I get changed for the party later or just put on a suit now?”

“Up to you.”

“What are you doing?” He pulled his suit from the wardrobe. It was identical in shape and style to the suit he had arrived here in but was a much darker blue. Rose loved him in it.

“I’ll get changed later.”

“Hmm, think I will then.” He was rifling through a drawer now and turned to look at her. “Tie or no tie?”

“No tie. And no undershirt, either. I hate having to battle through seventeen layers.” She climbed out of bed then too, grabbing yesterday’s jeans from the back of the dresser chair and throwing them onto the bed. They moved around each other, getting changed and organising clothes for the evening. It struck the Doctor suddenly how completely at ease with each other they had become in the last year.

He thought back to their first night together, not knowing where to put his eyes, flushing scarlet at Rose’s request he stop staring and start doing. He had been so aware of everything about her, so nervous and fearful of rejection. One year down the line and seeing Rose in her underwear didn’t make him feel like a bashful schoolboy, caught peeping through the door. He almost pulled her to him as he watched her choose a top for the day, but decided against it. He had to keep his energy up; he was getting old. He smiled at the thought. Growing old with Rose Tyler. Wonderful.

It wasn’t long before they were letting themselves into the Tyler mansion. They had barely got in the door when Tony flung himself at the Doctor’s legs. “Happy Birthday!” He squealed, delighted. The Doctor picked him up, grinning as Tony wound his arms around his neck. “I made you a card! It’s got a picture of a cake on it!”

“Oh does it? I want to see it.” He beamed at the small boy in his arms. “Which direction, Captain Tyler?”

Tony pointed to the living room and the Doctor carried him through, dumping him unceremoniously on the sofa before launching into a tickle attack. Squealing, Tony scrambled away. The Doctor laughed and flopped onto the sofa himself while Tony fetched his birthday card.

Rose smiled and took her place beside him, only to be shoved aside by her brother moments later as he wiggled between them and handed the Doctor a card. There was a childlike drawing of a cake on it, with several lines coming up from it, which the Doctor assumed to be candles. “It’s brilliant, Tony, I love it.”

“I wanted to put the right number of candles on it, but Mummy said there’s no cake big enough!” He looked puzzled as Rose and the Doctor laughed. “I said I could draw it but Mummy said that this one was fine.”

“It’s perfect, Tony. I’ll put it on my desk at work.”

Tony clambered upwards, climbing onto the Doctor’s lap. “Will you really?”

“Scout’s honour.” The Doctor told him, and gave him the scout sign. Tony copied it gleefully.

Jackie appeared in the doorway then, smiling over at her family. “Hello Doctor, happy birthday.”

“Thanks Jackie.” He mumbled and gripped Tony lightly, hoping his presence would protect him from a kiss from his mother-in-law. Rose, knowing him well enough to be able to guess what he was doing, laughed. He shot her a look of betrayal and she kissed his nose softly.

“Presents?” She asked.

“Presents.”The Doctor grinned back at her.

The boys stayed put as Rose and Jackie went off to fetch the presents from their secret hiding place and Pete appeared while they were gone. He wished the Doctor a happy birthday and lifted Tony away from him, holding him above his head just to hear him giggle. It warmed the Doctor’s single heart.

His presents were laid before him when the Tyler women returned and he was shocked at how many there were. Birthday presents weren’t really something Time Lords got, but he was part human now and this was wonderful. The idea that people had gone shopping and chosen things they thought that he would like. It was fantastic.

He opened the presents from Jackie and Pete first; some books, two shirts and a watch. The latter came with a note from Jackie criticising his time keeping, and he reminded her that he never used to need to keep an eye on the time, he just knew it instinctively. There were still three parcels left when he was done thanking Jackie and Pete and he turned to Rose. “Which should I open first?”

“You can choose.”

He pondered for a moment and then did eeny meeny miny mo in his head before picking up the present nearest to him and opening it. It contained a leather-bound, but empty, journal. Rose smiled at him awkwardly. “You said you hated the thought that you would start to forget things when you got older. Thought you could write your adventures down. Good place to start.”

He smiled and kissed her softly. “A Journal of Impossible Things?”

Rose shrugged. “If that’s what you want to call it.”

The second present he opened was larger, but also leather-bound. He opened it and saw it was a photo album. All but one of the spaces was empty, the first one holding a picture of the Rose and the Doctor together at Christmas. He turned to stroke Rose’s cheek softly, taking his moment of thanks as another opportunity for a kiss.

Rose grinned at him. “There’s still one left.”

“So there is.” He smiled and lifted it. It was the smallest of all the presents he had been given and he opened it carefully. Inside the wrapping was a small box which he slid the lid off carefully. Inside the box was a small locker key. He looked at Rose, bemused. “What’s this?”

“It’s a key.”

“A key to what, though?”

“An adventure.” She beamed at him. “It’s a clue. You find the locker, you’ll get another one.”

“You...” He honestly didn’t know what to say, he desperately wanted to set out on his scavenger hunt now, but he also wanted to snog Rose senseless for thinking his birthday presents through so much and he wanted to berate her for making him so curious. She was grinning at him so much he almost melted.

“This might help start you off.” Pete said, handing him an envelope.

“You were in on this too? Pete Tyler, you conspirator!” He was still smiling as he opened the envelope, and it increased tenfold when he pulled from it two zeppelin tickets to Auckland. He turned to Rose, flabbergasted. “Have you really done all this?”

“Thought it was about time we started getting into trouble again.” She studied him. “What d’you reckon, Doctor. Up for a bit of travelling?”

“With you, Rose Tyler, always.”

  



End file.
